Regional interests focus of Nato talk

Members of Nato's parliamentary assembly meet Middle Eastern and North African officials and academics.

ABU DHABI // Members of Nato's parliamentary assembly are meeting Middle Eastern and North African officials and academics today to discuss common challenges. The two-day seminar in the capital will cover issues such as political reform, energy security and regional dynamics. Dr Mohammed Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Federal National Council Affairs, said in a statement: "This strategic meeting contributes to creating a common understanding between Nato countries and the GCC region, and will address the global challenges faced by the Middle East.

"This event will serve as a crucial platform to exchange opinions and experiences and also highlight the political experience of the UAE and the efforts taken to enhance political practices." Today's seminar will open with a presentation by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and José Lello, the president of the Nato parliamentary assembly. Abdul Aziz al Ghurair, the speaker of the FNC, will speak on Middle Eastern political reform, while Dr Gargash will deliver the closing remarks.

Scott Ritter, the former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, and Alvaro de Soto, the former UN special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, will also attend. The seminar is one of two annual events to further the 2004 Istanbul Co-operation Initiative, or ICI, which was intended to enhance security co-operation and capacity building between Nato and Gulf states. Alongside this week's conference, officials from the Emirates are expected to meet their Nato counterparts and discuss future security co-operation.

The ICI also seeks to improve security co-operation to combat terrorism, prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and counter the flow of illegal arms, drugs and people. The initiative is focused on GCC member states, four of which have signed the initiative, including the UAE. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was originally formed to collectively defend Europe and America from Soviet attack. It has, however, expanded in scope since the fall of the USSR, and leads the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Analysts said the ICI was not an expansion of Nato's sphere of influence but was instead a precursor to extending Nato security co-operation. The Istanbul initiative was launched two years after tensions first escalated over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme, said Dr Mustafa Alani, senior adviser and security programme director at the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai. "There is a strategic problem of self-defence capability," said Dr Alani. "When you have no ability to defend yourself... you need to import protection, you need to accept a partner."

However, he added that the ICI suffered from its broad scope and lack of diplomatic teeth. Saudi Arabia and Oman have yet to join, he said, because the agreement did not contain the trappings of a genuine military alliance, such as the guarantees for collective defence that are incumbent upon Nato members. "The Istanbul initiative is not fulfilling this sort of ambition," he said. "The Istanbul initiative is just general co-operation, there is no strategic commitment."

The Ministry of State for FNC Affairs will host the two-day seminar at the Emirates Palace hotel, reported WAM, the state news agency. @Email:[e-mail] @Email:[e-mail]